Services for youth from Norway in Romania-PILOT
Semper Musica Association ·Romania
About this project
<p style="text-align: justify">In 2019, teens, 15 to 34, represented 50% of the new HIV cases registered in Romania. In 2018, there were 17.981 births among teen moms of ages between 15 and 19, and 6 out of 10 underaged moms from rural areas never had access to reproductive health education. 82% of the rural teens rarely or never discuss with their parents about their sex life debut, and sexual and reproductive health education is optional in the educational system. The poverty rate for teens, 0-17 years old, was, in 2018, 32%, situation which led to a limited access of teens, especially the ones from rural poor communities, to contraceptives and family planning services. Romania doesn’t have a sexual and reproductive health national strategy, a national condom distribution program for teens at risk and there aren’t enough family planning offices. Also, there isn’t a HIV testing Mobile App to include all relevant data related to the HIV testing available hospitals/clinics, HIV tests being the only way for identifying the infection.<br> The project “Services for youth from Norway in Romania-PILOT”, implemented by Semper Musica Association in partnership with FASMR-The Federation of all Medical Students Organizations in Romania and Sex&Society Norway, aims to offer access to a PILOT programme, after a Norwegian model, consisting of reproductive health education and services, free condoms distribution and the first HIV testing Mobile App in Romania. The beneficiaries are youth of 15 to 35 years from 24 rural underserved areas in 11 counties. 23.750 beneficiaries will have access to the programme, and 1.513 teens will be consulted regarding the access to reproductive health, HIV testing and contraceptives. Also, 950 pilot reproductive health education sessions will be delivered and 44 meetings with the local authorities in the 11 counties will be organized for promoting the project results. The Norwegian partner will share the know-how regarding the condoms distribution programme.</p>
Bilateral cooperation results
The partnership with the Norwegian organization Sex og Samfunn played a crucial role in the implementation of the project. The collaboration started with a know-how exchange. A key moment was the organization of a visit to Oslo for five team members from Romania to collect information about the Norwegian national condom distribution programme. Sex og Samfunn representatives were also actively involved in the strategic planning process of the Semper Musica Association, contributing to the development of the methodology for the free distribution of 120 473 condoms in the 11 counties of Romania. The developed methodology, inspired by the Norwegian model, included innovative methods of condom distribution, adapted to the context and needs of the targeted communities. Despite the official end of Sex og Samfunn's involvement by the end of 2022, collaboration and support continued until the project was finalized. The organization remained a pillar of support, providing the necessary assistance to address the challenges, coordinating the team of clinicians and communicating with the high schools, thus demonstrating the value of the bilateral partnership. This collaboration underlined the importance of sharing international experience and adapting methods and practices to the local context, contributing significantly to improving access to education for young people in Romania.
Project partners
- Sex og Samfunn Donor project partner· Norway
- Federation of Associations of Medical Students in Romania Project partner· Romania